The Predators won the USBA Lake Norman Shootout this past weekend in Mooresville.
Play began Friday night against the Charlotte Storm. The Storm were in control most of the game but the Predators made a late run to take the lead. The Storm missed a shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game and the Predators escaped with a hard fought 73-71 victory. Charlie Wilson had 20 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Predators. Chris Patterson also had 20 points and Jalonde Willis had 10.
The Predators faced the High Point Heat in the second round of pool play Saturday morning and jumped to an early lead and never looked back in route to an 85-52 win. Patterson paced the scoring with 25 points. Wilson had a double double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Willis added 13 points and 8 rebounds from the point guard position.
Those two victories earned the Predators the #1 seed in bracket play and a rematch with the Storm Saturday afternoon. This time, the Predators held the lead most of the game only to see the Storm come back and send it into OT with a 3 pointer at the end of regulation. The Predators controlled the OT period and claimed an 88-80 win. Patterson exploded for 35 points. Tyrell Sutton added 15 and Philip Hux chipped in with 11 in his first game back after an ankle injury 3 weeks ago. Wilson led all rebounders with 7.
That win earned the Predators a trip to the title game Sunday night against a very talented Carolina Kings team. The Kings grabbed the lead midway thru the first half and held on for a 5 point half time lead. They stretched the lead to 9 in the second half before the Predators cranked up the defense and the running game and pulled away for the 67-61 win. Sutton led the scoring with 20 points. Patterson had 14. Wilson, as he has done so many times this season, had another double double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Hux added 10.